I have been bying and using various embroidery threads and tinsels and mylar ribbons from Craft Shops for both ribbing on nymphs and body on chironomids and dries for several years. The prices are cheaper for larger amounts of material and occasionally you can come up with some great color variations you won't find in fly shops.

After what I just wrote I sat here thinking(I know it hurts). I have a rough time with dubbing. Just can't seem to make it work. So what I do is take knitting yarn and split it. It has three to four strands. I just use a strand at a time and it works for me. Jim :COOK

I just picked up a bag of the stuff. Ben Franklin's is going out of business and everything is 50% off. Now how do I use it for dry flies, fishinfella? What dry patterns do you tie? I had visions of extended bodies in my mind when I bought it, but the visions did not include any recipes/ tying instructions. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi Jim: Almost time to fish!!! Spiderweb....hmmmm,never thought of trying that. Maybe I could tie a fly that would catch a fly that would catch a fish with spiderweb,he,he,eh!

Dubbin can be a pain in the butt. Spiky dubbin like Squirrel is the worst. You gotta keep it wet to even make a dubbin thread to twist on your thread. Then it wants to break all the time. Makes nice buggy dragons though. That African Goat is nice to dub with. Nice long fibres that you can string out easy and wrap on your thread.
Most other stuff is in between those two. Try wetting it prior to making your dubbin thread as it adheres better that way.
REAL seal fur is also great dubbin and quite easy to dub with. Some fly shops have it but I get mine cheaper in Canada at the Logan Lake Mall. Georgi's fly shop has a great variety of colors and you get a big packet for $2.50 Canadian.

Riverdog, I got no idea what you got in that bag. I tie a lotta terestrials, chironomids and mayfly dries plus a few caddis dries and emergers.
If you got pattern books and are tying a pattern that calls for superfine dubbin and you got some fine textured yarns of good colorfast color substitute your yarn. Use mylar threads for ribbing vs wires is another example. Experiment. I tie some chironomids with embroidery thread bodies that look nice and carbonated in the water. All I can say is try different stuff that seems to make sense for the insect you are trying to imitate. Good luck....never throw anything away,you'll come up with a use even if it's underbody. :LOVEIT

I took your advice on using a magnifier to tie with. It works real good on my bigger flies and then I tried a size 18. HA HA HA. Even with that they still look small. Was going to try and tie up some blood worms but alas no red thread. I quit,my eyes went batty on me. Jim S. :BIGSMILE

I think they're all going, but I'm down here in Olympia, and can only speak for the two down here. One of the clerks said that the owners are retiring and simply closing up shop. Anyway, LOTS of stuff for the creative tyer. Which I'm trying to become.